Feeling at Home : Defining Who You Are And How You Want To Live

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Summary: Discover for yourself what makes you feel at home
Review: A must for those of us who want to love our homes more. More than a collection of decorating ideas and tips, you embark on a journey of what meaningful living is to you. Alexandra asks her readers to keep a journal as they turn the pages of a book that provokes thoughts and insights into one's own preferences. Remarkably, you feel as if Alexandra is guiding you in person instead of through words on pages. Included is an in depth interview with one of Alexandra's clients, narrative on 15 essential elements of emotional comfort, helpful recommendations for balancing time and ideas on cultivating creativity. These concepts are interwoven with revealing personal and profeesional experiences as well as pictures of Alexandra's New York apartment. This book is great alone or as follow up to "Decoration Of Houses" and "Open Your Eyes". Enjoy!

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Summary: Feel happier without even leaving home
Review: I always enjoy Alexandra Stoddard's books and this one is no exception. From the beautiful, juicy layout colors to the message, she is a writer filled with grace. Her ideas are wonderful, practical, easy to do, not necessarily expensive and even if you do absolutely nothing but recline on the sofa and read this book, you'll fill uplifted. However, I encourage you to answer the questions she raises because you will learn a lot about yourself and your needs and priorities. There is also a GREAT transcript of interviewing a client family--you get to see how she deals with truculent family members.

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Summary: Just another self help book
Review: I bought this book because i enjoyed her book Creating a Beautiful Home. But this book was not a decorating book at all! It is not filled with ideas and inspiration. Rather, it is filled with a lot of psychobabble nonsense.

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Summary: unrealistic at times
Review: I discovered that my other favorite decorating books do a much better job of inspiring me to make my home personal and giving me sound suggestions than this book. I found her premise snobbish, because she clearly thinks that she'sjust discovered this idea and that the rest of us still need to be told or convinced that putting our personalities into our homes is the thing to do. She is way behind the times and seems to just be catching on to what the rest of us have been doing in our homes for many years now. I would like to know about the author's qualifications, because I agree with an earlier reviewer who noted that this book is filled with lots of "psycho-babble," too. Get a good decorating book instead of this one.

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Summary: unrealistic at times
Review: I have to say that I was both happy with and dissapointed by this book. My overall impression was that the methodology for trying to really understand how to create a home that reflects the person you are is sound. However, I was dissapointed with much of Stoddard's descriptions of how she applies her theories in her own life. Frankly, it sounds as if she has all the time in the world to take the day at her own pace, and I was left wondering: "Who lives like this?" I don't know ANYone with this kind of life! At one point, she mentions that she likes to sit in her pj's and write 'till lunchtime. Me, too! But PLEEZE - who has the time for this? These kinds of 'insights' into how to live your life left me feeling frustrated.

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Summary: Page after page of dumb questions
Review: I was terribly dissapointed with this book. My brain went numb as I read page after page of dumb questions about what you might do in each room. The author writes as though she is the wize, all-knowing mother and we are poor, imbecilic children in need of enlightenment. When I buy a book that is supposed to improve my home, then I expect some tips, some examples, SOME PHOTOS. Nothing like that here.

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Summary: Silly-Sappy-Biased
Review: The book is sentimental in a particularly unhelpful way. It is filled with quotations from famous people, each of which may be insightful taken alone, and which together make no sense. I am very sorry I bought it.

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Summary: Feeling at Home: Defining Who You Are & How You Want to Live
Review: This book has wonderful organizing ideas, beautiful quotes and decorating tips, and gorgeous color photos of Alexandra's famous New York apartment. I loved it!